An attack on Israel is an attack on the US, says … Rand Paul?

posted at 8:31 am on January 25, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

Allahpundit wrote Wednesday that Rand Paul is working hard to differentiate from his father’s brand, but … wow. Breitbart’s Ben Shapiro asked Paul the Younger about aid to Israel, which Paul says he’d like to eliminate only after eliminating all foreign aid — and that the effort should start with nations where the people “burn the American flag,” and perhaps Israel last. If President, Paul pledges to send a message that American troops will intervene on Israel’s behalf if attacked, regardless of aid decisions, using the NATO formulation:

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul took what very well could be considered his most pro-Israel stance yet, saying in an interview that an attack on Israel should be treated as an attack on the United States.

Asked whether the United States would stand with Israel and provide it foreign aid if the Jewish state were attacked by its enemies, Paul went a step further.

“Well absolutely we stand with Israel,” he said in an interview with Breitbart News, “but what I think we should do is announce to the world – and I think it is pretty well known — that any attack on Israel will be treated as an attack on the United States.”

Can you imagine Paul the Elder ever saying, “An attack on Israel is an attack on the US”? I doubt he’d even say that about NATO countries.

Needless to say, this will go a long way with Republicans and conservatives to put their trust in Paul the Younger’s judgment. What, though, will it do for hopes that Rand Paul could create a fusion between traditional Republicanism and the more rational elements of Ron Paul’s followers? It’s one thing to establish a separate brand from his father, but this looks more like repudiation — and the Ron Paul Revolution will almost certainly feel the same way.

Blowback

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